The conference comes as Australia's Climate Commission has indicated Hurricane Sandy which devastated the east coast of the US was influenced by climate change. Meanwhile a report titled Turn Down the Heat prepared for the World Bank now warns the planet is on track for a four degree Celsius rise in temperature this century with disastrous consequences.

Professor Lyster says the conference will look at six key issues:

the most recent science on whether the world's climate has become more extreme as a result of climate change

disaster risk reduction where environmental planning and assessment for buildings and infrastructure are crucial

disaster preparedness and response which looks at which levels of government should take the lead

compensation and risk sharing between insurers, government and civil society

disaster recovery practices, including rebuilding, managing contaminated water and the disposal of debris, and

"Perhaps most importantly, FEMA has the full, direct backing of the White House," Professor Farber recently blogged. "FEMA's primary role is to coordinate responses from diverse federal agencies, from the Pentagon to the Commerce Department. They all have bureaucracies and priorities of their own. But they'll respond a lot more quickly and effectively if they know the White House is focused on the issue and will back up FEMA."